The 80's
by JulieisaBean
Summary: Based years ago before the events of Hellsing, young Enrico Maxwell is having a picnic with his fellow orphans and Father Anderson. When the three leave him for a moment his is bombarded by an eccentric American girl. Told in first person.


_Spectacle._ The way the leaves dance in the trees, the way the sun rays light their way through the crease of the branches, the way the grass shifts to the demand of the breeze. How simple it makes everything seem. The blue sky is opaque without detection of a grey cloud; no sounds in the distance to put me off. Simply me; here I dwell with no worry. Then suddenly I can sense a presence over me. It's faintly irritating as I come to crack open an eye and see three heads, one with glowing blue eyes that tower the other two. I flinch as I slide my upper body up the tree, finally gaining some vision I can see him clearly now. His smile was reassuring and my nerves settled. _It was just Father Anderson with Yumiko and Heinkal... of course I should've known._

"Up, Lazy- Bones, we're going to go see the hawk nest over by the grove! Get your sight back and let's go! We want to be there before the mother comes back," Heinkal shook me, I groaned in irritation. I looked up at Father Anderson; he chuckled faintly at my distress, not tauntingly. He seemed pleased in the choice of taking the three of us to the park for a picnic, after all the persisting from the two girls, I was the only one humble enough not to badger him. We rarely left the orphanage for any activities. All we did was read and recite from our bibles, pray for happy well-being and eat our meals. I had to admit it was good to see him so content with us, since the three of us were the only few of the children who behaved this month, this was our reward.

"Why...? Just let me rest, I don't need to see some hawk's bald, ugly spawn, it's weird to find interest in those kinds of things, you know," I scoffed, as I resumed against the tree bark with my arms behind my head and my eyes closed, subtly.

"Compared to sleepin' under a tree for the whole afternoon, come on, boy, you're pale enough," Father Anderson stated, "You want to waste this time in dream land? Who knows when we'll be able to have another day like this, Enrico."

"Yes! And Father Anderson won't go if it's only the three of us!" Yumiko pitched in as she clutched to his pants. I finally gave them my full attention and sat up right, but still remain hesitant to leaving my tranquility for some nest. Who cares about birds, anyway? Squawking, pooping vermin, the lot of them, why should I waste my time on a flying blight?

"Enrico, come on... please!" whined Heinkal, as she continued to shake my shoulder, much to my annoyance. I didn't want to succumb, and I wasn't... but I could feel their eyes on me, and if I continued to stay hesitant I would be at fault and later blamed by the two girls for robbing them of the experience. It was annoying, for sure, incredibly annoying...

"Ugh... fine... fine! I'll go, just give me a moment to gain my wake back, I'll catch up," I grumbled as I wiped my eyes and the drool on my chin.

"Yaaaaaaay!" the girls celebrated as they dodged to the nest, with Father Anderson ambling behind in observation, Heinkal was laughing "I'll race ya', Yumiko! Can you run in that dress?"

"No, I mean... yes! Hold on, stop! Let me catch up first!"

"Ladies..." Father Anderson's voice was heard as his and theirs faded with distance, "take it slow before one or both of you trip..."

Their laughing was gone, I was alone again. It was sweeter than any bird nest or picnic. As I resumed my rest I could feel a cloud covering the sun's shine. The air turned cold and the sun was gone and the wind fainted, symbolically telling me to stay by my word and go after Father Anderson and the girls. I was being nagged by God; his index finger wagging at me in a scolding manner. I wasn't in the mood for the lecture by Father Anderson if I stayed under my tree, or the girl's sour faces. It wasn't worth the headache, so I got up and stressed my arms and legs, releasing a mild yawn. Then the cloud passed the sun and the skies were shining again, God's way of telling me I had done the right thing. I smiled up at the sky; thanking my Lord, and began to walk my way to the river. If I could have seen him, I knew he would be smiling at me. I'm sure seeing the nest wouldn't be so bad, maybe the mother would come back and scare off the girls... that would be funny. Or maybe we could see Father Anderson fighting her off for us. Just a little action wouldn't go amiss.

I could see in distance the river, and the grove that lay by it. I could faintly hear Heinkal's voice; she was always very loud. The trees kept the three hidden from my sight though, but I'm sure their voices would give me the idea of where to find them when I hit the grove. It looked like it would take me a while to reach it, and I wasn't in a rush. I just ambled to them, and enjoyed the walk. Suddenly I heard the shout of a girl to my right ear, but before I could look in that direction a harsh smack hit my face, the sound was sharp in my ear and the smack was a painful sting. It was so overwhelming I flopped on the ground as its solidness knocked the wind out of me. It was a kite that had somehow fell out of the sky and blew right into my face. It flapped on the ground like a fish picked from its bowl and put there. I just rubbed my face in pain, and great irritation. Suddenly running footsteps were coming in closer to me, more octave with every second, then finally a slam on the ground next to me of someone else. This didn't bother me until they laid their hands on me; on my face. I wasn't fully recovered from the blow yet.

"Oh my goodness, are you okay?! I'm sorry, I'm so so sorry! My kite is a crazy person!"  
The voice was childish, girlish, and their stubby little hands (that smelt of peanut butter for some strange reason) surely gave me the indication it wasn't an adult. It was a child, like me. Her hands went from my face to the collar of my shirt and she violently shook me, her voice becoming more hysterical.

"I'm so sorry! Please... don't... please don't be dead! Are you dead! Blink once if you're dead, oh no! Wait, I can do CPR, I can so do CPR, do you need CPR?" She was crying, unnecessarily. I opened my eyes and tried to tear away from her grasp, but she was very strong, unexpectedly.

"Agh! What are you doing?!" I shouted, as I finally took a glance at the girl. She was my age, if a bit younger; with big, teary blue eyes looking at me, red hair held in short pigtails, and denim overalls. Her voice held a detectable accent I only heard on First World TV channels at the orphanage we were never allowed to watch. The same accent all tourists had from the Land of Opportunity.

"You're alive! Oh, thank God, you're okay!" suddenly she was hugging me like we had known each other for years, tighter than should be safe. I could feel my cheeks flush, and I was beginning to sweat. Did she even grasp the concept of 'personal space'? I tore myself from her with great effort, she wasn't getting the idea to let go of me. I began to panic at her unearthly affection; she had a grasp so tight it was like tearing off duct tape from another strand of duct tape.

"Let go of me, you damn Protestant!" I badgered as she finally released me, her head tilted with a flummoxed expression.

She batted her eyelashes and asked, "What's a bra-tester, someone who tests bras?"

"What? No... No! I called you a-"

"I have never once in my life tested a bra! Well... not a real one... I'm still in training bras, haha!"  
My right eyebrow twitched and my mouth fell agape, I wasn't sure if this girl was being serious or not. If she was, then surely a 'dumb' protestant would do fine, or 'bra-tester', in her case.

She perked up, and continued, "Sorry my kite hit you, my parents and big brother and I are here on vacation, we were gonna go to Bali but we couldn't find our favorite sun screen and since my mom is like obsessed with Italy, and I'm talking obsessed! Okay, like you have no idea how obsessed she is, but yeah we came to Rome instead! It's so pretty here and there is so many nice faces, and the food is so good, like the spaghetti is awesome! Oh I'm sorry, what was your name again?" I answered with a stare, not sure where to start a conversation with her. She was far more eccentric than anyone I had ever met before. After a long held silence she spoke up again, "Um... are you there? Do you need me to call someone? You look pretty pale... Oh! Do you need sunscreen, I have some!"

"Just..." I began to mumble, "Watch where you fly your kite, fool." I was done with this random event, I was now determined to see the hawk nest; anything to get away from her.

But I could feel a tight clasp around my wrist when I got up, it quickly pulled me down again with force I've never seen from a pubescent girl. I landed back on the ground, and she was in my breathing space; her face lit up with a smile, "Wait! What's your name?" I wasn't sure what to make of this question, _was she seriously trying to know me?_ I didn't answer, just returned my response with silence and a raised eyebrow. Nonetheless she beamed again, "Um... well, my name's Chloe Green! I'm from the United States, Ohio, and I love singing, dancing and making faces. Can you tell me yours, now?"

I smirked at this, "So you're American... that explains a lot. I could tell from the minute I saw you that you gave off this primitive aura. A land full of heathens, all obsessed with their own gain and cheeseburgers,"

I ended with a chuckle, but the primitive didn't even give me a notion of offense, she just smiled, "Oh, I love cheeseburgers! Oh, Oh! Look at all the birdies!" The girl pointed up to a flock of geese heading south, "They are so pretty, I wish I could be a bird."

"Why would you want to be a flying rat? Those things are disgusting." I detested.

"No they're not, trust me. If you were given the chance to fly and see the clouds up close, wouldn't you? I'd spend nowhere else..." This brought me back to what Anderson and the two others were doing with the hawk nest. They were likely beginning to get suspicious of my whereabouts. How on earth would I explain this girl to them? Maybe I could just claim she came up to me and attacked me; like a squirrel plagued with rabies... or something along those lines.

"Something tells me your head is already in the clouds..." I muttered, moving myself away from her. She giggled and scooched closer to me, causing me to stand. She followed my lead, her hand still applying pressure to my own. All I could do was groan at her ignorance, and put my palm to my face.

"Agh! Chloe- is it? Can you let go of me, your grip hurts!" At realizing this she gasped and released my hand immediately.

"Oh, I'm sorry! My mom always tells me I don't know my own strength, I didn't even know I was doing it, Hahaha!"

I sighed, "Ugh... you could try being more subtle when meeting new people, you crazed ape. Funny how the first American I meet is a mostro like you- look you turned my hand purple!" All Chloe could do was laugh at that point and gleefully cover her mouth as she let childish giggles release from the creases of her fingers. Once again my cheeks turned red at the sight of it, she took no offense to my insults. Like most girls I met who annoyed me would be sobbing and running the other direction to Father Anderson to tattle on me, but she just laughed... like my petty insults were merely playful jabs that drew her in closer.

She opened her eyes after settling herself and the sun reflecting off the blue was like the sea; sparkling and pure. I released my frustrated expression at the sight of her smiling at me, and she came closer causing me to back up in response, but she just persisted, "Hahaha, your accent is cute when you get angry." Blood rushed to my cheeks and sweat grew on my brow,_was she... actually... complimenting me?_ She continued as she leaned in, "Can you pretty pretty please tell me your name? I bet it's a cool name, you don't have to be embarrassed."

"Who said I'm embarrassed?!" I shot back.

"Well, you're as red as a cherry, silly," she giggled and I covered my face as I looked away from her; my heart pounding in my chest. She continued to gleefully giggle, why was she having this effect on me? She was some eccentric primitive who had an issue with valuing the space of other individuals. She was just some American tourist! Chloe persisted to step closer to me, and I staggered away to the best I could before my back hit a tree, then we were face to face, both of us breathing in the same carbon dioxide.

"Uhh..." I whispered as my head reached up in an attempt to avoid our faces touching, "My name's... Enrico... Enrico Maxwell..." She perked her head and smiled at the name, before giving out an amused laugh, as if something hilarious had just struck her mind.

"Enrico?! Haha, that's a funny name," she chuckled in between words with struggle; wiping tears from her eyes.

My teeth clenched and my face turned from red to scorching. The embarrassment was beyond compare, and the anger of this child teasing me was like forest fire. _What was so funny about my name?!_ I growled out, "Don't you laugh at me, you damn fool! I didn't have choice in the matter of what I was to be called; my gods-forsaken parents picked it! Who are you to laugh; 'Chloe' sounds stupid... too!"

"Oh, you're here with your parents? They should meet mine; they are just over there!" Chloe pointed to a picnic table at least 10 meters from us. She began waving at the 3 sitting, who returned waves back and started to walk our way.

"Your... _parents...?_" As the people began to approach there was no doubt of relation. The very clothes they wore, the expressions on their faces and the sprightly voices; not to mention the red hair inherited with all of them except the mother, who was blonde. They all gave off this strong vibe I received when I met the bothersome girl. Americans were like their own species, I only feared what the adults were like.

"Mommy, I met someone! His name is En-Ri-Co; spelt A-N-R-E-K-O," Chloe squeaked as her family approached with jolly smiles.

I released an agitated sigh, "… that's wrong, that's so wrong."

"Oh, hello, hunny!" happily greeted her mother to me, crouching slightly to my level. They didn't try to remain inconspicuous of their nationality even in the slightest. All of them holding or wearing the American emblem to make them the perfect gullible pocket for Italian thieves. Not to mention the hairstyles, never in my life have I seen a woman with so much product in her hair that it could rival the size of a beach ball. I could feel my eye brow twitching, and sweat moisten my back, I had never come face to face with these kinds of people before.

"He's my new friend! I accidently slapped him in the face with my kite!" Chloe declared as she grinned up to her mother and snatched my hand again. I simply groaned, wondering if anyone in the world could detect my distress. I just wanted to know if that damn bird Father Anderson and the girls were looking at had attacked yet, was it too much to ask for a little solitude from these individuals?

Her mother chuckled and gestured to Chloe gripping my hand, "Aw, my Chloe has a little boyfriend, huh? He sure is a cutie!" Hearing this I snatched my hand away and held it tight to my chest, my cheeks were flaming and my heart was over 90 beats.

"What?! No! I don't even know this girl, she's insane! She's been attacking me the moment she met me!" I exclaimed through the redness of my cheeks and the shake of my voice.

"Aw! He's just adorable!" Her mother elated.

"Jeez, Chloe, could we go on vacation once without you physically harassing someone?" asked Chloe's older brother, while her father continued to take pictures.

"Okay you two, get together and smile!" he cheered.

"No! I won't be a part of this happy, oblivious gallery of yours! You're all insane!" My teeth clacked and my foot stomped. I was done with these primitives; the idiocy of it was driving me up the wall. All four of them remained silent for a few seconds with startled expressions. I was certain I must have cracked their thick skulls. Certainly they had gotten the idea I wanted to leave and never come sight distance of them again. Then they all began laughing in the admirable way towards me, like I was some small-brained puppy that had harmlessly fell off a couch.

"Hahaha! Oh, his little Italian accent when he grows angry is precious!" Chloe's mother snorted.

"That was so pathetic!" her brother bellowed through laughter, as did her father. The only one who wasn't laughing was Chloe, I noticed. Oddly enough she actually seemed rather upset with her families tittering. She was giving them a chastising look; I couldn't help but pay notice to this.

Suddenly an overshadowing figure towered all of the people (myself included) around me. The sun was behind his head making his face hidden with shadow, but he was unmistakable from the glow of his blue glasses. Father Anderson, Heinkal and Yumiko had returned from their hawk expedition. The worst of all, the three did not look too impressed with me, and especially the heathens I was surrounded with. I just nervously giggled, "Oh... hi Father Anderson."

"Enrico... make new friends?" he simply asked, his voice as broad as a knife. His presence had managed to terrify all three of Chloe's family. However, her attention was all on me, she was smiling and tossing rocks underfoot. She was repeatedly poking me to my annoyance, like she was trying to get a reaction.

"Hello! Ahh, sorry if we were keeping your boy. We just came over here to see if our daughter made a new friend... Ha-ha..." Chloe's mother nervously jittered; her fingers in a fiddle at the colossal priest.

"Oh, that's nice." serenely replied Father Anderson, "Enrico doesn't usually make friends outside the orphanage. It's nice to know he has the charm." Just like that their buoyancy and joy was replaced with fear and consideration, I was in awe of Father Anderson's intimidation. Perhaps when I was older I could be that scary too.

Suddenly I felt something moving into my scalp and it was beginning to press. At first I figured it was Chloe's finger, only to find out she was digging her nose into my head sniffing me. _She was sniffing me?!_ I instantly screamed out, "Ahh! Stop that, what the hell is wrong with you?!"

"Well I think that is enough for today, I was taking the children back to the orphanage. Something tells me Enrico isn't really... wishing to make friends. Come along, Enrico." Father Anderson took my hand and began to walk me the other direction.

"Of-Of course! It was great meeting the two of you! Let's go, Chloe." Her father said behind me.

Chloe's voice tuned in, "Wait! I didn't get to say goodbye! Bye, Enrico! By-Bye! Why... why isn't he turning around? Enrico! Ah... why isn't he... but"

"Come on, let's go back to the table, hun."

"But... but..." Chloe's voice went to slight whimpers, but I felt no guilt in leaving without a goodbye. She was annoying; a blight. Simply put and simply correct. I didn't have the patience for such an energetic nuisance. Everything she did pushed me off the borders; our very cause of introduction was a sudden and obnoxious incident of her lazily letting her kite hit me in the face. It was just another of those random events that I would forget about tomorrow, surely.

As we made our way farther away from the family of Americans, the girls began asking questions, "What was that all about? You make a girlfriend?" teased Heinkal.

"Shut up!" I shot back.

"Enough! Now, Heinkal you're all too young for that, and too old to be fighting. Just enough. I should interject; you should have at least given that girl a goodbye, m'boy."

"Why, Father? I barely knew her..."

"Because Christ frowns upon the arrogant, you should remember that." I tried not to take this to heart, but Father Anderson was right. Our Lord would have said goodbye to her, I'm sure. Despite the absolute annoyance of her every doing, he would have at least had the courtesy to say goodbye... but still... she should have the courtesy not to dig her nose in other people's hair! Now that was something disturbing. I gave a look back to them as they ambled away in the other direction. My face was filled with disdain for them._Annoying tourists._

As I looked back I could see Chloe being carried away by her father. She was looking past his shoulder behind them and instantly saw me, and her face lit up like a dawn in May. She began laughing and waving her hand frantically in the air for me to see it. Why was she so excited? What was I doing that intrigued her so much? From the minute we met I displayed nothing but a detachment for her. Why was she... so nice to me? She was filled with bliss, I'm sure she hadn't a trouble in the world to mourn for. She was just so happy, it was beyond my comprehension.

I did something then that I didn't think about. It was kind of like an instinct, like feeling a bug on your arm without looking down and slapping it; just knowing it was there. I dimly smiled, and began to wave back at her. She screamed out another farewell to me as the two of our different family factions parted ways. I don't know why I did, just everything in that moment was telling me to. I harbored a resenting respect for her. Because despite who intolerable motives, she still was in better circumstances than I. Chloe had a functional family that adored her. Sure they were odd people, but there was something admirable and luxurious about that lifestyle she was in. _They were together;_ a family. All four of them don't see anything past each other. It was a respect that almost wielded jealousy. To analyze how I was robbed of that life, and wanted something like such more than anything, my condescension for her and her family didn't make me feel any better. It dug a deeper hole for me. It was so strong it could turn my skin green. The envy was raging fire, yet I continued to wave back at her. I can't describe the feeling of respect for her or why she was making me blush. All I know is that Chloe's personality was terrifying... _but why on God's green Earth was it terrifying?_ Why do I feel this way? Is this puberty or something?


End file.
